BOONE Home of Aooalachian State Uni versity, in Boone, Blowing Rock and Linville Scenic Triangle. VOL. LXXXI—NO. 12 WATAUGA DEMOCRAT BOONE WEATHER 1968 HI Lo Snow Free. *67 Hi I.o An Independent Weekly Newspaper Eighty-First Year of Continuous Publication Sept. 10 68 54 Sept 11 63 50 Sept 12 65 46 Sept 13 72 39 Sept 14 73 41 Sept 15 72 43 Sept 16 69 45 121 29 tr. 67 54 65 54 62 42 60 38 66 48 70 39 72 46 BOONE, WATAUGA COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA, SEPTEMBER 19, 1968 10 CENTS PER COPY 28 PAGES—3 SECTIONS DEMOCRATIC RIBBON CUTTING EVENT—First row, left to right, Glenn Hodges, County commissioner: Miss Helen Underdown, Register of Deeds; Mrs. Rachel Hartley, Vice-Chairman Democractic Committee; Jim Dugger, Chairman; Second row; left to right, Randy Phillips, Candidate for the State House of Represnetatives; Rufus Edmisten, representing U.S. Senator Sam Ervin; R. C. Winebarger, candidate for County Commissioner; Ward Carroll, Sheriff of Watauga County. (Flowers Photo) Democratic Headquarters Opened; Rally Is Planned More than a hundred Demo crats from various sections of Watauga County took part in the opening of Democratic head quarters at the Boone Auction Gallery building on West King August Visits To Parkway Up 51% From 1957 Visitors to the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first eight months of this year indicated an increase of 43%, a National Park Service tabulation reveals. Last year to this time there were 5,518,328 visitors as com pared to 7,885,181 this year. In August this year there was an increase of 51% over August of last year. This August there were 1,844,840 visitors. August of last year 1,214,430. The break-down by Parkway districts follows: the first figure in each case being for 1968, the last 1967: James River, Va. Mile 0 to 105, 210,243; 184,769. Rocky Knob, Va. Mile 105 to 217, 340,394; 283,301. Bluffs, N. C. Mile 217 to 305, 324,489, 215,672. Asheville, N. C. Mile 305 to 469, 969,714; 530,688. Street Saturday. Jim Dugger, Democratic Committee chairman, welcomed the gathering, while Rufus Ed misten, representing Senator Ervin, spoke briefly and told the gathering that the Senator planned to be in Watauga in October, when the Senate has adjourned. Jerry Perry, of Appalachian State University, stood in for Congressman Whitener who was unable to be here, while Randy Phillips, candidate for the State Legislature spoke. Miss Helen Underdown, who is unopposed, was recognized. Glenn Hodges, incumbent County Commissioner and can didate for re-election, spoke enthusiastically of the prospects of all party candidates winning in the County and State in No vember, while R. C. Winebar ber, candidate for County Com missioner, said he’s actively campaigning for all candidates. Dr. Robert Randall, Univer sity professor, drew enthusi astic applause when he said, “I would be very happy to hear that Democrats are ready to support all Democratic candi dates from Vice-President Humphrey, all the way down/’ James Dugger approved Dr. Randall’s remarks and said he would be working for all can didates. Speaking up for Con gressman Whitener he referred Angell Speaks On Plan To Aid Retarded Children W. Guy Angell, Superintend ent of Schools and a member at the County Board of Educa tion, was the featured speak er at the Watauga County As sociation for Retarded Child ren last week. He spoke on the facilities now available in Watauga County for the trainable and educable chil dren and said that he is pleased with the progress of the train able class and Appalachian State University's help with this class. He added that classes at Watauga High School would be made available if there was suf ficient demand. Angell said that pilot pro grams in connection with the federal government’s work with special education is now being initiated in Watauga, Ashe and Alleghany counties. Hugh Hagaman, a member of the Board of Education, said that he felt more children could be helped through special class es but as yet some have not been indentified for such class es. Ralph Yates, president of the WCARC, said he was pleased with the Association’s interest and desire to work with the local education board. He added that the Associa tion is striving to improve public relations with local groups and organizations. He said he wel comed comments and questions concerning the local Associa tion and its work. to the Republian party as being willing to stand still and re ferred to G.O.P. opposition to medicare, social security and many other progressive mea RALLY PLANNED It was announced that a fund raising rally will be held Oc tober 18th, when Pat Taylor, Candidate for Lieutenant-Gov ernor, Congressman Whitener and Senator Ervin will be pre (Continued on page two) MRS. LYNDA LYONSSHAFFER Mrs. Shaffer Gets Loan Grant For Vital Study Mrs. Lynda Lyons Shaffer has been awarded an academic scholarship and a scholarship loan grant for prospective teachers of the mentally re tarded. She will apply the yearly $950 stipend to four years of study at Appalachian State University where she will enroll this fall to major in special education. Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dolph Lyons of Boone, she is married to Stephen Shaffer of Miami, Fla., and they have a son, Stephen Paul, who is 15 months old. Crowded1 Sleeping•, DiningFacilities 5,500 To Enroll At ASU At Beginning New Year 1,500 Freshmen Will Enroll To Set Record Fall quarter classes will start Monday amid crowded sleeping and dining facility conditions at Appalachian State University. A record on-campus enroll ment is expected for the open ing of the new academic year. Some 5,500 students—including 1,500 freshman—are anticipat ed. The cramped living conditions for some of the students is to be only temporary pending the completion of three new re sidence halls and an additional dining area. Four new, high rise residence halls were due to be ready for occupancy, but only one of the two men’s dor mitories will be completed. “Portions of the other re sidence halls for men and por tions of both new structures for women will be occupied,” said Ned R. Trivette, Direct or of Business Affairs. “These three will be ready for full occupancy in about one month.” Students as signed to unfinish ed floors of the new buildings will be placed in other dorm rooms in which three will be temporarily noused. The new Bavarian Inn, a large dining facility being con structed beneath the current cafeteria, also was due to be ready for use by the beginning erf the fall quarter. However, it will not be available until Oct. 1. Two huge structures have been completed this summer and will be placed into immed iate operation. The $2 million Varsity Gym and the $2 mil lion new library will provide the most modern facilities for study, physical education and recreation. Registration for the fall quar ter will be held Thursday and Friday, with the first classes set for Monday morning. The fall quarter convocation is sche duled for 10 a.m. next Wed nesday in Broone-Kirk Gym. The anticipated 5,500 on campus enrollment will com pare with the 4,940 of last fall. The total in other recent years has been, 4,417 in 1966; 3,954 in 1965; 3,428 in 1964; and 3, 183 in 1963. United Fund Kickoff Monday The Gateway Restaurant will be the scene Monday, Sept. 23, for the Kickoff of the Watauga County United Fund campaign. The dutch breakfast meeting will begin at 7:15 a.ir. with the board of directors, campaign workers and community volun teers in attendance. According to Wade Wilmoth and Mark Hodges, who are di rectors of the drive, the goal of $20,541 is a record for United Fund in this area. Fund leaders hope to have reached the goal by Tuesday, Oct. 8. JOE KING'S PORTRAIT OF DR. PLEMMONS Dr. Plemmons Portrait Unveiled A large color portrait of Dr. W. H. PI em mo ns, which to be placed in the Appalachian State University student center which is named in his honor, was un veiled Sunday at a luncheon attended by several invited guests. The portrait, which shows Dr. Plemmons seated on a porch before a panoramic mountain background, is the work of Joe King, a Winston-Salem artist who paints under the name of Vinciata. It is eight feet wide and four and one-half feet high. Among those attending the unveiling ceremony were King, several members of the Plem mons family, ASU’s Board of Delivery Mail An All-Day Job Delivering the mail is an all day job in Boone. The averave rural carrier reports to the local post office at 7:30 a.m. He may get through handing out all his mail about 4 in the afternoon. Local carriers who work on foot are in the same boat time wise. They carry the mail on their backs and hoof it from house to house. It seems it would take long er than the 30 or 40 minutes it usually takes to empty the smaller delivery trucks: One handles roughly 75 packages a day while the larger one may deliver well over 100. The Boone Post Office employs some 20 governmental workers. Four of these are city carriers and four are rural route delivery carriers. Trustees, the institution’s Board of Visitors, members of the Administrative Council of the university, and the perma nent officers of the graduating class of 1967 which began the move to have the portrait paint ed. Dr. Plemmons, a native of Asheville, has served as Ap palachian's president for the past 13 years. He was aware of the portrait presentation in ad vance, but was surprised by the luncheon location—a plush new Presidential Dining Room which had recently been con structed in a section of the University Cafeteria without his knowledge. Miss Kay Plemmons of Ashe ville, a niece of Dr. Plemmons, unveiled the painting which was officially presented by Mike Morgan of Nashville, Tenn., president of the Class of ’67. Dock Watson, Son To Take Folk Music To Mexico City Two North Carolina folk groups will perform at the up coming Olympics inMaxicoCity as part of this country’s official cultural program. The groups—an eight-mem ber team of the Blue Ridge Mountain Dancers and blind folk singer Arthel L. (Doc) Watson and his son, Merrill, of Deep Gap—will appear along with some 30 other distinguished folk entertainers from through out the United States. They will perform under the auspices of the U.S. State De partment. Ralph Rinzler, director of the Festival of American Folk life of the Smithsonian Insti tution, Washington, D.C., said the American Folk Company will present its first perfor mance October 7 at a recep tion officially opening the Oly mpic Games. Other per formances will be given through October 16 at various theatre locations designated for the Olympics’ cultural program. Prior to returning to North Carolina, Rinzler said, the dance team will take part in the Festival of American Cul ture in St. Louis, Missouri, October 17-18. The Blue Ridge Mountain Dancers, comprised of youths from the Hendersonville area, was formed in 1960 to preserve the mountain folkart of “buck” dancing, frequently described as a variation of the Irish “jig". Since that time, the dancers have gained national acclaim as one of the country's most authentic folk dance groups. In addition to performances at the New York World’s Fair in 1964, the group has enter tained at the National Folk Fes tival in Covington, Kentucky, in 1963, the Newport Folk Fes tival in 1965 and 1966, and the (continued on page two) Other class officers present were Jerry Mayhew of Danville, Va„ and Jerry Bridges of Shelby. John P. Frank of Mt. Airy, chairman of the Board of Trus tees, presided over the cere mony. W. J. Conrad of Winston Salem, long-time chairman of the board, spoke briefly after which King discussed the paint ing. The unveiling procedure was accompanied by several mo ments of noise and mirth-pro voking events. First unveiled was a characture painting which showed Dr. Plemmon’s head on the body of “Yosef,” the mountaineer hillbilly who is the university’s athletic mascot. As the comical drawing was displayed, the real “Yosef” ran into the room and fired his huge rifle. He was followed by band members who presented a rousing version of the ASU fight song. As the real portrait was un veiled, the University Band as sembled outside the room play ed Appalachian’s Alma Mater. King who once served in the N. C. General Assembly, is an internationally-known artist who took his professional name from the town in Italy where he studied. He is the owner of the longest painting in the world, a canvas which stretches some 300 feet. King’s wife, Earleen, is a well known sculptress and decora tor. A LOW DRAFT CALL The Defense Department issued a November draft call of only 10,000 men for the Army. This is the lowest re quest made of the Selective Service System since March, 1965. Will Past Watauga Voting Record Be Guide In 1968? Which of the pres Ldentlal can didates will residents of Wa tauga County favor in the forth coming election? Will their party preferences, as expressed at the polls in previous national elections, in dicate how they will vote this time? While there is no sure guide as to how much fence Jumping will take place in November, some Important light on the subject is shed in a nationwide study, based on thousands of personal interviews, conducted by the Survey Research Center of the University of Michigan. It shows that once a voter makes his choice of a political party—and this usually occurs before age 30—he generally sticks to it for life. Only one out of five switches thereafter. This, according to the study, has been the most important single influence in our elections. Do these general observations apply in Watauga County and, if so, to what extent? With respect to the last three presidential elections, the local vote for the major party can didates was as follows: In 1964, 3,932 were for the Republican and 4,031 for the Democrat. In 1960 it was 5,020 Republican and 3,440 Democrat and, ih 1956, 4,636 Republican and 3,223 Democrat. That count shows that the Republicans have been receiv ing 56 percent of the major party vote to 44 percent for the Democrats. Combining the results of those elections, the Republicans col lected a total of 13,588 votes and the Democrats, 10,694. In the State of North Carolina as a whole, the Republicans garnered 47 per cent of the votes cast for the two parties and the Democrats, 53 percent. The question that arises, with this year’s election, is whether history will repeat itself. Will voters maintain party loyalty, for the most part, or will special considerations this year cause big shifts? Much depends upon what tin report calls the‘‘volatile voting behavior of independents*' and upon the 11 1/2 million young people who will be old enough to cast their first votes for a president. In Watauga County, approxi mately 1,348 of these new comers, who were too young to vote in the 1964 election, have now reached the trwdifying age

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